Howe - who posted a 137-186 record in two seasons as the Mets’ skipper in 2003 and 2004 - told Tulsi Kamath of Click2Houston that prior to his hospitalization, COVID-19 had given him such bad chills that his whole body shook "like a leaf." He eventually had to be taken in an ambulance to the hospital last Tuesday, where he remained until being discharged Sunday.

Though his time as Mets’ skipper wasn’t especially memorable, Howe has had a pretty incredible life in the sport. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals in an 11-year MLB career that lasted from 1974-1985. His stint as Mets’ manager came after stops in Houston and with the Oakland Athletics.

Howe was actually portrayed by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in the 2011 film “Moneyball,” which was based off of the book by Michael Lewis that documented how the A’s helped to usher sabermetrics into the mainstream of the sport. The movie - which also featured Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Chris Pratt - received widespread critical acclaim.